


Hiring Practice

by misura



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Community: avland, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 19:58:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4276056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You interview all your prospective employees in person?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hiring Practice

She'd come well prepared, or thought she had, anyway - two strategies to deal with Stark, depending on whether she felt like reducing him to a sobbing wreck (and never mind the job) or actually making him respect her (and get the job, it went without saying) and then about a dozen strategies to deal with various types of HR people, ranging from the 'mildly annoying' to 'would approve mission to neutralize as a threat to other people's mental wellfare'.

It followed, therefore, that she had the interview with the company's CEO.

"You interview all your prospective employees in person?" Stupid question, obviously.

Pepper smiled, no dimples. "That would be Tony."

"Hard mistake to make." Provided it was one; she found it hard to believe he cared that much about what had been, after all, for a very long time, his father's company.

So. Probably true after all, which just went to show.

"You'd be surprised at what he and I have in common," Pepper said. "Well then, what position did you have in mind? Any previous experience you're actually allowed to tell me about?"

No to both, but saying that out loud would make for a very poor strategic decision on her part.

"I'll take the job you planned on offering me when you came here. Assuming it's still available."

"I believe the position has just been filled." There were dimples this time.

She was tempted, for a moment, to say _'thank you'_ but that would be ridiculous, naturally; whatever it was, she'd be good at it. She hadn't been hired as some sort of favor, unless it was to her and them both. "Salary?"

"I've been told you'll be making four times what you made before. Will that be acceptable?"

The phrasing bothered her; up until about oh ten seconds ago, she'd have said the list of people able to tell Pepper Potts what to do was so short as to be non-existent. Now - one name, at least.

Wait. Stop. Rewind.

"If it helps, it was a bet," Pepper said. "And it did take him the better part of the evening to get in."

SHIELD's personnel files. Beyond classified, because what was the use of keeping secrets safe if you couldn't also protect the people who had those secrets in their heads?

"Who won?"

Tony Stark was a lucky man; she'd thought that before, of course, but never in this meaning of the word. It surprised her that apparently he was sufficiently aware of this to not have screwed it up yet.

"I rather believe we both did," Pepper said. "So. Will you be working for me?"


End file.
